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Re: Encrypted e-mails?



Gene writes:
> As the situation now stands, an encrypted email is a bright red flag
> in front of the bull in a china shop, so they will expend a lot of cpu
> cycles to read it because if it didn't contain sensitive data, it
> wouldn't be encrypted in the first place.

While I find the behavior of the intelligence agencies morally repugnant
as a practical matter they are not part of my threat model.

> The encryption insures that it will be read...

It *may* be scanned by software.  A lot more goes into the decision to
attempt to decrypt an encrypted message than the mere fact that it is
encrypted.  Most likely it results in an addition to a database of IPs
known to emit encrypted messages.  It almost certainly won't be read.

> ...then a small maybe that it will be delivered to the 
> addressee.

It will already have been delivered.  

> If its a trigger msg, you can bet it will be printed for later perusal
> by a grand jury and the digital copy will be delivered to /dev/null.

It will mark the sender and receiver for investigation.  Why would they
tell their enemies that they are reading their mail?
-- 
John Hasler 
jhasler@newsguy.com
Elmwood, WI USA


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